"Mama's face lit up with surprise; she was so used to being ignored. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Finally, she sobbed the words 'Asante, Maisha, asante for everything!' and bowed repeatedly, her hands held before her, as if in prayer" (p. 26).

"But we make sure your intelligence no lead you in de wrong direction. Remember, only de fly without direction dat go follow de corpse enter grave. You understand?" (p. 57).

"Though he was tense as we awaited our godparents' arrival, I had hoped he would start acting the fool, the way he did during the party after the Nanfang Thanksgiving. But he didn't. We were in his house, but he didn't even welcome the guests or introduce them to us. Now, he stood around like a new servant who had to rely on an older one, Big Guy" (p. 71).

"He carried...